The Beauty, a new Disney+ series co-created by Ryan Murphy, opens with a visceral spectacle. As The Prodigy's "Firestarter" blares, supermodel Bella Hadid, clad in red leather, wreaks havoc on a Parisian runway, snapping necks and battering paparazzi before a dramatic collision leaves her bone jutting through skin, only to miraculously heal and then explode in a shower of viscera. This propulsive Grand Guignol sequence sets the tone for what follows: an excessive, lurid body horror that critics argue represents a decline in Murphy's work and a broader trend of streamers simplifying content for distracted audiences.
A Superficial Adaptation of Comic Book Premise
Based on a 2015 comic book by Jeremy Haun and Jason A Hurley, The Beauty blends body horror, sci-fi conspiracy thriller, and allegory about beauty standards. The series centres on a drug that guarantees beauty with the slogan "one shot and you're hot," but it comes with lethal side-effects and functions as a sexually transmitted contagion. As recipients become impossibly attractive, the contagion spreads rapidly, creating a narrative ripe for social commentary.
However, the show's execution falls short of its potential. While its genetic make-up includes traces of superior influences like Coralie Fargeat's The Substance in its grotesque physical metamorphoses and David Robert Mitchell's It Follows in its contagion element, The Beauty fails to match their depth. Instead, it opts for a tawdry spectacle that prioritises style over substance.
Narrative Simplicity and Excessive Exposition
One of the most criticised aspects of The Beauty is its dumbed-down narrative approach. The series exemplifies a growing trend among streamers to reiterate plot points multiple times, allegedly to accommodate viewers distracted by their phones. Matt Damon recently revealed that Netflix advises creators to reiterate plots three or four times in dialogue, and The Beauty appears to follow this model closely.
An early exchange between FBI agents Cooper Madsen (Evan Peters) and Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Hall) exemplifies this. Within minutes, dialogue establishes that they are cosmetically enhanced, sleeping together (with the line "f***ing is helpful for jet lag"), on separate career paths, and avoiding serious commitment. Moments later, Hall's character says, "I sense a philosophical lecture coming on," which promptly precedes one, complete with backstory about Madsen being "stationed in Japan a decade ago." This heavy-handed exposition strips the narrative of subtlety and credibility.
Cast and Villainy: Style Over Substance
The series features a gorgeous cast, including Bella Hadid in a standout role, but the characters often feel superficial. Ashton Kutcher plays a dastardly tech trillionaire behind the miracle injection, hiring an assassin (Anthony Ramos) to manage the clean-up of side-effects. Kutcher's performance sacrifices menace for lip-smacking, scenery-chewing cartoon villainy, aligning with the show's overall tone of excess.
Visually, The Beauty delivers impressively gory sequences. One early transformation involves a lonely incel (Jeremy Pope) whose teeth fall out as his face sloughs away, his entire form cocooning before bursting forth reborn as hotter, leaner, and more chiselled. These body horror moments are flashy and vacant, eschewing narrative credibility for slick visuals and jet-set backdrops from Paris and Venice to Rome and Croatia.
Ryan Murphy's Declining Trajectory
The Beauty is seen as part of a broader decline in Ryan Murphy's output since peaks like The People v OJ Simpson (2016) and Feud: Bette and Joan (2017). While it represents an improvement over his recent schlock-fest All's Fair, a Kim Kardashian legal drama dubbed "a crime against television," it continues a trend toward lurid premises, gorgeous casts, and capped-up exposition.
If all television were produced by Murphy, as The Beauty clearly is, our viewing diet would be restricted to these elements. The show is an exercise in excess, a farrago that prioritises accessibility and ludicrousness over depth. It is TV designed to be glanced at, not necessarily watched, comfortable in its skin but lacking substance.
Moments of Merit Amidst the Flaws
Despite its defects, The Beauty does have its moments. The series wears its ludicrousness on its sleeve, embracing its role as superficial entertainment. For viewers seeking flashy, gory visuals without demanding narrative complexity, it offers a passable diversion. However, as the review concludes, other beauty products are available for those desiring more substantive horror or social commentary.
